1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to vacuum cleaners and, more particularly, to an access panel removably mounted to the vacuum cleaner housing for servicing a drive belt interconnecting an agitation member and the drive shaft of a drive motor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional upright, canister and hand held vacuum cleaners incorporate an agitation member or rotary brush to agitate the carpet during application of the vacuum suction. It is well known that incorporation of an agitation member enhances the cleaning performance of the vacuum cleaner. Typically, the motive means for the agitation member comprises an electric motor mounted so that the drive shaft extends substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the agitation member and a belt interconnecting the drive shaft and the agitation member.
As can be expected, the belt must be periodically serviced. A variety of access panels and pivoting plate members mounted to the housing are known for enclosing an access aperture provided for servicing the belt. Examples of these different structures are seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,128 to Bawerman et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,171 to Beaudoin; U.S. Pat. No. 2,149,138 to Gasher; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,312 to Zuiderveen et al.
One problem with the known vacuum assemblies is providing an aperture large enough such that the user can easily access the fall length of the belt extending between the drive shaft and the agitation member. A second problem with the known vacuum cleaner is providing an access panel enclosing the service aperture wherein the panel is quickly and easily removed from the vacuum housing.